Survey: Many Midmarket Cos. Plan Travel Spending Cap

A majority of midmarket companies plan to cap travel spending heading into 2009, although fewer than half report negotiated agreements with travel vendors to help ensure that savings, according to a survey of 402 senior finance executives at North American midmarket firms released today.

The survey, a collaboration of American Express and CFO Research Services, showed that 60 percent of midmarket firms, defined as those with annual revenues of between $10 million and $1 billion, intended to cap spending for both meeting and transient business travel, slightly fewer than the number planning to cap spending on either office supplies or meals. At the same time, more than a third said they intended to increase spending on such productivity tools as mobile phone products and services.

"Midsize firms want to keep their employees productive, and making life easier for business travelers is a top priority," Eduardo Vergara, American Express' senior vice president of global commercial card and services, said in a prepared statement.

Fewer than half of those finance executives surveyed, however, said they have negotiated agreements with airlines and hotels to help control spending, much fewer than the about 75 percent who have agreements for office supplies and computer equipment or the 61 percent who have deals for shipping services and mobile telephone products. The survey also shows that only 38 percent have set policies requiring employees to use preferred partners in all of those areas.